Try Everything
by starbin21
Summary: Amelia Otterton was worried sick; her beloved husband had disappeared for ten excruciating days, and no one seemed to care about bringing him back home to her and her boys. Mr. OttertonxMrs. Otterton.
Hello all! So I watched this movie, and completely fell in love with ALL OF IT. I adored the mini love story between the Ottertons, and was shocked upon finding ZERO fanfictions about these adorable otters, so I decided to do my own! These are the events of Zootopia from their POV, but if there is enough interest I may do more screen shots of their beginning as a couple.

Please R&R! Enjoy!

 **Try Everything**

 **Chapter One: Fateful Days**

Emmitt Otterton was a simple North American river otter. He enjoyed clams thoroughly, ate seaweed like no other mammal, cared deeply for his two sons, and loved his wife more and more every day since the first day he saw her in his floral shop.

It had been fifteen years ago, but Emmitt remembered their first meeting like it was yesterday. She had looked up at him with her beautiful big green eyes and it was love at first sight. It had taken him quite a few moments to answer her seemingly far-off question, as he had been mesmerized by her emerald pools.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry?" He managed to stammer. _Stupid otter!_ Emmitt thought to himself, nervously wiping his dirt-caked paws on his green work smock and pushed his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose, to bring her beautiful features into better focus.

"Carnations, I couldn't seem to find them when looking through your shop. Do you have them in stock?" The gorgeous otter asked again very politely with a simple, yet lovely smile.

"N-n-no, we had a hard t-time selling them l-last year, s-so we stopped o-ordering them," Emmitt explained as he watched her face fall. For some reason, it was a look he _never_ wanted to see on her face again.

"Oh, okay. Do you know where I could find some? They're my favorite," The beautiful otter piped. _Get a grip, Emmitt Otterton. You could make her happy. Get her back here so you can see that smile again!_

"A-actually, I could order some, it's not a problem! W-what color would you prefer them in?" Emmitt asked, his excitement at the possibility of seeing her again taking hold.

"Oh, I don't want to put you out at all," the shy otter explained, feeling a blush under her fur at the dashing florist's kindness.

"Nonsense, I've had a few others asking about carnations recently, your asking as well finally makes it worth ordering," Emmitt let the white lie fall right out of his mouth before his brain caught up.

"Well, if you're sure, I love white carnations, the way they are meant to be; with no added color dyes," she explained as her blush grew deeper in a more sheepish manner. But Emmitt could not be more thrilled - that's how he believed all plants should be, in their purest form.

"Of course, I'll order those for you right away and you can pick them up in two days, Mrs...?" Emmitt asked shyly.

"Oh, it's Miss. Miss Amelia Viride, nice to meet you Mr...?"

"Emmitt. Emmitt Otterton, pleased to make your acquaintance," Emmitt shook her paw, which was warm and soft and a paw he wanted to hold forever.

"Very nice to meet you, Miss Amelia Viride."

...and the rest seemed like ancient history. Warm, delightful history. After weeks of her picking up new batches of white carnations in his shop, Emmitt finally worked up the nerve to ask her on a date, which turned into three years of dating, a year of engagement, then eleven years of marriage and two amazing sons, Ben and Carter. Emmitt and Amelia were forever grateful for their blessed life together with their two boys.

Then, everything changed that fateful day.

Emmitt was going about his usual business in the shop, while Amelia was tending to the flowers being prepared for Mr. Big's daughter's wedding in two week's time. It was a slow morning, so Emmitt was doing his rounds, watering each plant and flower to their individual needs when he heard the bell attached to the front door ring when opened. The otter glanced up through his dirt-splattered spectacles, and wiped them off as he made his way toward the white furry creature that was blurry in his vision. Once re-donning his cleaned glasses, he saw that it was a ram in a neon yellow jumpsuit.

"May I help you sir?" Emmitt greeted the oddly-dressed ram politely.

"Yeah, you got any night howlers here?" The ram said nonchalantly. Emmitt was taken aback for a moment. Emmitt never carried night howlers, and frequently argued with farmers about their use in keeping away mammals from their crops. But this ram did not strike him as a farmer by any means.

"No, we do not carry night howlers. They are dangerous, you shouldn't be looking for them either," Emmitt explained warily.

"You sure? Not even for the Assistant Mayor of Zootopia, Dawn Bellwether?" The ram asked, ignoring his warnings and peeking above Emmitt's head to the back room.

"Yes, I'm sure what I stock in my own shop. I have children, and many families who frequent my shop. Night howlers are dangerous," the otter reiterated, very wary of the strange animal in his shop and why he was asking in the assistant mayor's stead.

"Okay man. But if I find out you do have 'em, and you're hidin' them from me...I'll be back," the ram said ominously before walking out of the store. There was something about that ram that turned Emmitt's stomach, not to mention the subtle threat he had made.

"Is everything alright, sweetheart?" Amelia asked Emmitt, sliding into his arms and holding his face in her hands. She had walked into the shop's main room to find Emmitt staring at the front door, a deep worry line set in his brow that she seldom saw on her husband. Upon feeling her touch and seeing her, the worry line disappeared from Emmitt's features.

"Everything is just fine, my love. Do you mind watching the register for a moment? I want to call Mr. Big to make sure his daughter hasn't added any more last-minute changes to the floral order," Emmitt asked of his sweet, trusting wife. He could not involve her - he needed to do everything possible to protect his family, especially if those in power they were supposed to trust were involved.

Which is why he would trust Mr. Big with this information. He was not police, and was someone he and his family had trusted for years. They had a great working relationship, and Mr. Big was much kinder than most people thought; he would even give Emmitt and Amelia a Christmas bonus to spend on their children every time they delivered the annual Christmas poinsettias to the arctic shrew's mansion. Yes, Mr. Big was someone he could trust outside of Zootopia's main offices of power.

His gut churning, Emmitt kissed his wife's forehead as she agreed to watch the register and walked out back. Once he was sure he was out of his wife's earshot, he opened his flip phone and called Mr. Big. He was unavailable at the moment, but would send a car to pick him up from yoga later to discuss whatever was bothering him.

Even after a delicious pawsicle from the red fox always selling them around the corner from his flower shop and naturalist yoga at the Mystic Spring Oasis, which was his absolute favorite freeing and de-stressing activity, Emmitt could not shake the heaviness on his chest that was set in place when the ram supposedly working for the assistant mayor of Zootopia asked for a plant that was dangerous to every animal out there.

When ground into a powder and inhaled, night howlers stimulated the sympathetic nerve system's "fight or flight" response, awakening primal rage and more of the "fight" stature, proving to be more of a psychedelic plant. Emmitt had only ever come across it a handful of times in his botany books, and they made night howlers sound more like the stuff of fiction than reality, as it was rarely seen. _An alluring deep purple with the smell of sour grapes will seal your fate,_ one of the passages read.

Deep in thought, a low voice snapped Emmitt back to reality. Standing in front of a black limousine, a tall black jaguar dressed in a sharp suit and driver's hat opened the back limousine door for him.

"Mr. Otterton? My name is Manchas, I'll be your chauffeur to Tundratown."

"Ah - yes, thank you sir," Emmitt greeted the jaguar and hopped into the backseat of the limousine.

As they passed through his home of the Rainforest District, Emmitt gave a deep sigh as he listened to the soothing rain pitter patter outside the open window. He just needed to confide in Mr. Big as soon as possible to get to the bottom of why someone in power was asking for one of the most dangerous plants known to animal kind.

 _SPLAT!_ All of a sudden, an incredible pain from what felt like a dart to the right side of his neck nearly knocked Emmitt out of his seat. Instinctively, his paw flew to his neck, and when he lifted it away and looked down, there was a deep purple powder all over his paw. The stench of spilled red wine overtook his nostrils, and his heart began to pound; his pulse quickening through his veins.

" _An alluring deep purple with the smell of sour grapes will seal your fate_ ," Emmitt whispered, eyes wide.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a growl ripped out of his throat. He felt very, very angry for no reason at all. Angrier than he ever felt in all his life. He growled again, ending with a snarl, jumping up and slashing at the divider. Emmitt's body was no longer his own.

"NIGHT HOWLER! NIGHT HOWLER!" He tried to scream in warning, but it seemed all he could do was snarl and growl.

Then Emmitt's vision began to fade to black, his last thoughts in a panic as he realized that with all the reading he had come across of night howlers, nowhere did he read about an antidote.

 _Ben. Carter. Amelia, my love...forgive me._


End file.
